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<h1 style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:16pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Assigning Kosovo Z6 call signs 'Unauthorized and Illegal'</h1><p style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:16px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">ARRL reports Kosovo, which won its battle to become a DXCC entity earlier this year, appears to have another fight on its hands<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General<span> </span><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Houlin Zhao</strong><span> </span>has determined that the<span> </span><strong style="box-sizing:border-box">Z6</strong><span> </span>call sign prefix was never allocated to Kosovo.<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">The Secretary-General issued his finding in the wake of a March 16 inquiry from Serbia, from which Kosovo declared independence 10 years ago, the last piece of the former Yugoslavia to do so. Serbia has continued to reject Kosovo’s secession.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">“ITU has not allocated call sign series Z6 to any of its member states,” Houlin Zhou said. “Consequently, the utilization of call signs series Z6 by any entity without a formal allocation and consent of the ITU represents an unauthorized and illegal usage of this international numbering resource.”<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">The Secretary-General’s statement was reported in ITU Operational Bulletin No. 1149. He cited Article 19 of the Radio Regulations, which states that the management of international series of call signs is an ITU prerogative. “Call sign series can be allocated only to the administrations of the ITU member states by World Radiocommunication Conferences or, between conferences, by the ITU Secretary-General,” asserted Houlin Zhou, who gave no indication that he would do so.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Kosovo joins a short list of DXCC entities where radio amateurs use “unofficial” call sign prefixes. The list also includes Western Sahara (S0) and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (1A).<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Earlier this year, in Mission Goodwill Kosovo, the IARU member-society SHRAK’s headquarters station Z60A mounted a massive special event operation to celebrate Kosovo’s addition to the DXCC List, as well as its 10th anniversary of independence.<br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">Read the full ARRL story at<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="http://www.arrl.org/news/view/assigning-kosovo-z6-call-signs-unauthorized-and-illegal-itu-secretary-general-says" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">http://www.arrl.org/news/view/assigning-kosovo-z6-call-signs-unauthorized-and-illegal-itu-secretary-general-says</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">ITU Operational Bulletin<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-OB.1149-2018-OAS-PDF-E.pdf" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-OB.1149-2018-OAS-PDF-E.pdf</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><br style="box-sizing:border-box">ITU Table of International Call Sign Series<span> </span><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/call_sign_series.aspx" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,51,102);text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word">https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/call_sign_series.aspx</a></p>
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